Nothing Personal
by MargaritaDaemonelix
Summary: it's just business. /a study on enemies and lovers.
1. It's just business

NOTHING PERSONAL

By MargaritaDaemonelix

Part 1

i. _sorry seems to be the hardest word_

Chung is sixteen when he realizes his goal in life is very, very different from what is expected of him.

Sure, Prince wants to be a lawyer, to follow in Father's footsteps, but Prince was always Mother's name for him and he hasn't heard anyone call him that since she died, save for on school registers. Prince knows it's only right for him to inherit the family law firm, to continue the legacy Father has made.

But Chung's dream is very, very different from what he knows is expected of him.

He pitches the idea of September, the year university applications begin, and Father takes it surprisingly well. Mother wasn't a lawyer, after all, and she certainly wasn't a pauper when she and Father were married. The world will still turn sans one unwilling lawyer.

Times are changing, too. Father knows that science binds the world together at its seams, and in the current science boom, the best (and perhaps only) option is to be in on it - or be forced to abandon it entirely.

(But Chung has never been one to back down from a challenge.)

So he keeps his grades up, puts in 110%, and wears his acceptance letter like a shining gold crown.

Electrical engineering at the University of Upper Elrios. It doesn't sound too bad.

* * *

ii. _come on, come on, show me the real you_

There is a very peculiar girl in Chung's physics class (the 2:30 one).

She has piercing golden eyes and cold silver hair and a glare that can shatter glass. She's always deadly quiet - or perhaps just very shy - but she sits in the front row everyday. She's never been late to class, but she never gets there really early either. She carries with her an electric blue backpack without a single stain or piece of ornamentation.

Her name is Eve, and she is the only student in the class with a higher average than Chung. She boasts a 99.8 to his 99.7, and it irks him to no end.

"Dude, she's a living legend," his new friend Elsword tells him. "I went to high school with her in senior year. She was robotics captain _and_ she was on student council _and_ she still had the highest average in the grade."

"I was robotics captain too," Chung informs him. "Wasn't student council, but I still had the highest average."

Elsword scoffs. "Yeah, right, and I'm an honours student."

The next day, in class, Chung makes eye contact with Eve for all of two seconds as he walks to his seat.

He hadn't known that gold could be so chilling.

* * *

iii. _remember my voice, and everything of the form you gave me_

"Were you in Professor Solace's physics class last semester?"

Chung blinks. "Yeah. You're Eve Silvia, right?"

Eve offers him nothing more than a blank gaze. "Correct. And you are Prince Seiker."

"Yeah, but no one calls me that." He sticks a hand out, friendly but neutral. "Call me Chung. I'm in electrical engineering."

She shakes it, rather cautiously. "And I, mechanical engineering. It is a pleasure to meet you."

(He kinda gets the feeling she's only saying it to be nice.)

* * *

iv. _someday i'll forget your warmth_

There is happiness, and then there is school, and then there are friends.

The little friend group is small, but grows quickly - Elsword brings in his girlfriend Aisha, and their upperclassmen friends Rena and Raven from high school. Rena is cheerful and always glows with warm, maternal light, and is able to coax the otherwise solitary Eve into their friend group.

Raven is almost as unapproachable, for entirely other reasons. According to Elsword, he's gotten softer since they met. He constantly shakes out one arm, and one day, the skintoned glove he's been wearing over the prosthetic slips. Chung only catches a glimpse of it, and never asks.

Rena suggests they go out for coffee once a week in the city. It becomes a lasting habit that follows them well after both Rena and Raven graduate, a tradition they never fail to uphold, except around exams.

Chung isn't scared of exams - he's well organized, he has his notes (and his life together), and he understands enough of the course material that he goes to the cafe that Saturday anyways. Surprisingly, Eve is already there, sipping her usual order of _yuanyang_ , three parts coffee to seven parts tea, typing away at her laptop. "Hey," he says.

"Hello." She takes another sip. "I expected you to be studying."

He shrugs. "You know me. I got it all done during the semester. I just have to review a bit."

The barista already knows his order - an affogato over two scoops of vanilla. He brings it back to their regular table, now painfully empty with four people missing.

"Doesn't Aisha have an average in the high nineties as well?" He asks, suddenly furrowing his brow as he pours the espresso over the rich gelato. "Why isn't she here as well?"

Eve's lips wrinkle around the edge of her mug, like she's trying to suppress a smile. She's been smiling much more since she joined their friend group, and Chung realizes he quite likes it. "Aisha does have a very high average, but unfortunately, Elsword does not. She is helping him with last minute review."

"I hope he doesn't fail any courses this year," Chung mutters, and Eve makes a noise of agreement into her mug.

They sit in near silence on opposite sides of the lonely table, each tending to their own affairs on their laptops. Chung can hear his keys click as he types, while Eve's slim fingers seem to leave no audible trace of their movement. "What kind of laptop do you have?" He asks, lowering his screen. There's no symbol to indicate any sort of brand, nor any stickers to show any sense of individuality.

"It is a modified Nasod Motors model X20," Eve says, and _is that a blush?_ "I acquired a normal X20 two years ago, but it didn't serve my needs at the time, so I took it apart and reassembled it."

Chung smiles at her. "Must be a hallmark of engineering students, eh?" He pushes his screen back entirely, revealing clumsy welds and broken plastic underneath. "I accidentally fried my X18, and I was so used to the keyboard that I didn't want to buy a new one, so I just bought parts instead, put them in, and rebooted this bad boy up. Didn't have the right tools, but I got it together."

Eve offers him a softer look, before its turns very confused. "The X18 is very sturdy. How did you manage to "fry" it?"

"Oh." Chung smiles sheepishly. "I was playing around with an old portable battery and a double ended USB cord. Plugged them into the laptop and turned the battery on. It blew out the lights and killed my laptop entirely."

"That is extremely dumb," Eve tells him, with the air of someone who has never considered demolition on that level, "and you should really take more care with your electronics."

She looks over his laptop. "But your upgrades seem solid, even with improper equipment."

It doesn't occur to Chung until quite a bit later that even though Eve said she'd gotten the X20 two years ago, the X20 hadn't been available on the market until just last March.

But then again, she could have just forgotten.

(Eve is not the type to forget.)

* * *

v. _let it stain you, my liar_

"What would you say," Chung asks, twirling the ramen around his chopsticks and loading them onto his spoon, "if I asked you out on a date?"

Eve doesn't respond; instead, she shoves an entire piece of narutomaki fish cake in her mouth, processing it slowly. Her lips mush together rhythmically when she chews, but it's such a miniscule movement that he hadn't noticed until very recently. "I would tell you that you're crazy," she says after she finishes chewing, because Eve would _never_ speak with her mouth full.

Chung nods and turns back to his ramen. This isn't the first time they've gone out for ramen just with the two of them - maybe the second or third. Chung isn't counting.

"What would you say if I told you yes?"

He looks up, and _oh no_ , she's smiling. It's a genuine smile, not the forced ones that she puts on when greeting their teachers. She's teasing him.

"Then I'd have to take you out on that date, wouldn't I," he tells her, and watches that smile get wider. "I was thinking maybe the museum - there's an exhibit on artificial intelligence right now."

"Interesting." She's studying him again, even though she's been doing that for what seems like forever. Perhaps she's committed all his features to memory already. "Very interesting."

It's an invitation, Chung realizes. It's Eve's way of daring him.

"So," he says, "will you go out on that date with me?"

"You're crazy," she replies, leaning forwards.

(Her ramen soup base is miso. Her lips are warm.)

* * *

vi. _it's a bit dangerous, dangerous, dangerous, but i think i'll cross this line_

"Chung,"

A whisper, cut off with a moan. Chung has never heard anything so beautiful.

"Chung."

Eve's eyes are wide open, and in the half light of the lamp by Chung's bed, they aren't such chilling gold anymore. She is alive and warm in his hands and her eyes are warm honey and molten magma all at once. "Chung," she repeats, voice barely more than a gasp.

He'd give anything to hear her say his name, repeat it like a broken record, forever. "Eve," he murmurs, right into the crook of her neck. She clenches her hands in his hair, arches her back and cries, but their bodies are flush against each other and she melts again under his touch.

"Please." Gold turns to amber to flame, and it only burns more in the pit of Chung's stomach. "Please. Please."

Chung knows he really shouldn't, they shouldn't, shouldn't be doing this so early in their lives lest it destroy them, shouldn't do this behind the backs of their friends and families, but fire and ice fill his veins as he presses his body against hers.

It feels _right_. It feels _whole_.

They seal their fate with a kiss. It's only fitting.

* * *

vii. _like kimbap, like mandu, you're so sweet_

Stains decorate his hands, his sleeves, his working jeans at every waking minute. He's pretty sure there are stains on his _pyjamas_ at this point.

"Are you entering the startup competition?" Eve asks him, arms slung over his shoulders from behind. Her hair is getting almost impressively long now, long enough to braid all the way down her back. Long enough to wrap around her eyes like a blindfold. "Is that a portable battery?"

"Yeah. The last time I did this, it caused a power surge and blacked out my building for half an hour," Chung tells her. "But I've reconfigured the battery so it doesn't kill my computer this time."

He hits the power button. The battery lights up, but nothing else changes. "That means this is safe for the next stage of experiments," he says, exhaling deeply in relief, "and the new additions."

"What kinds of new additions?" Eve asks, looking over the blueprint open on his laptop.

"Even with modern portable batteries, they have to be charged manually," he says, gesturing with a pencil at the screen as he unplugs the battery. A spark sputters over his fingers. He ignores. "My goal is to create a battery that doesn't _need_ to be charged, or rather, a battery that charges itself just by existing in our world."

As he works, he can feel the words sink into Eve. "That - you intend on capturing entropy itself," she stammers, which is certainly very new for her. Eve is never surprised, or startled, or uncomposed from her usual unrelenting self in any way. "Chung, I would never say this, but this is too ambitious, even for you."

"I can do it," he tells her. "I just have to build a working proof of concept for the competition. There aren't that many people competing, right?"

"Well…" Eve looks pensive. "There are nearly a thousand people entering the first round, but about fifty have already been disqualified on various terms. The first round will bring the number of competitors down to two hundred, through a voting process from alumnus reviewers. The second round will reduce down further to only fifty, this time through campus staff approval.

"The semifinals involve presentation skills, because this is an entrepreneurship competition, after all," she continues. "You each make a sales pitch, and students will vote on the five best entries. The final round is up to the Board of Directors, and it will be presented by Adrian Nasod."

"The CEO of Nasod Motors," Chung murmurs. He'd be lying if he says he doesn't idolize the man - he singlehanded created a multibillion dollar technological empire, starting with just his own innovations and eventually expanding much further beyond. "What an honour."

"Of course, the semifinalists do also receive prizes and recognition," Eve says, "but it's the grand winner that gets the best out of it. This is the first year that the school is hosting this competition, and you're fighting all the students across all years, even post-graduates."

"Do you think," Chung asks, "that I'll win?"

Eve fixates him with a very long look. For all of two seconds, the coldness returns to her eyes. For all of two seconds, she looks _scared_. Eve never gets scared.

"I know you'll win." And then, too quiet to be heard, just barely contained to below a whisper:

 _I hope you don't_.

* * *

viii. _this love is so insane_

"In the winning entry," Adrian Nasod announces, "we were not only looking for an ingenious idea, but also a significant drive to better the world. To introduce a revolutionary concept that could shake the world with its impact.

"Both my son and daughter have been students at this university at some point of their lives," he continues. "My son Adam graduated three years ago with amazing prospects for his future, and my daughter Eve is currently in the mechanical engineering program in her third year."

Chung's entire world freezes over with those words, as he meets a pair of golden eyes in the crowd. In that single moment, ice shards worm their way into his heart and rip it to tiny, worthless shreds.

Eve ducks her head down, and her beautiful silver hair falls over her face like a curtain, shielding her eyes. Chung wants to scream.

"It was interesting to find out that the winner of this year's _Innovation Plus_ award and grant is in fact in the same year as her," Adrian Nasod says, and Chung know he's won by the way all the other finalists tense, he's the only third year in the lineup, but is it really a win? "The winning entry isn't perfect, and the million dollar grant will certainly help improve it."

Chung barely hears him say his name out loud, but he does register one thing.

Prince. He called him Prince.

* * *

ix. _you're not serious, so why do you keep pushing me away?_

"Why didn't you tell me?"

Eve smiles at him softly. She looks tired. "Security," she says simply, shedding her white blazer and wrapping it over her arm. "My father is too famous, so if my brother and I went around advertising our identities in school, we would be at risk. That's why the school registers have me listed with my mother's maiden name."

"That's why I never figured out who you really were until now," Chung says. "Until this."

The _Innovation Plus_ trophy that came with the award and the grant rests in his hands. He wants to throw it at the wall. "Why didn't you want me to win?"

"Because I'd lose you." Eve's smile fades. "My father is getting on in age, and my brother has his own company to run, so once my father deems my education to be enough, I will be the second CEO of Nasod Motors. And because you've won the competition, you'll go on to start your own company with your absolutely world-shattering creation."

The offending device is now sitting on Chung's desk, slowly charging despite it's odd shape and nature. Every time Chung exhales in its direction, he sees the charging bar go up slightly higher. "I am so proud of you, Prince Seiker," Eve says quietly, "but from now on, we will have to be rivals in business."

She kisses him once, slowly, and then she walks out and shuts the door behind her.

* * *

x. _even those words became pain for me; i couldn't let you go_

The rest of the year comes and goes, and Chung is lonely.

Maybe if Rena were here, she could help. She'd always been good at helping with these things. But Rena has graduated and is living nearly three hundred kilometres away with Raven, and she's happy and she does not need to be burdened with Chung's problems.

Eve seems to have disappeared entirely. Chung asks around, asks Aisha and Elsword to help, and they gather that she's completed her course and has moved away to another university to be trained in business and entrepreneurship.

Elsword and Aisha's relationship stays strong through their last year, and they go right into living together after graduation. Chung tries his hardest not to be jealous, and fails miserably, pushing himself into perfecting the entropy battery to avoid them. He manages to reduce the size to a canister that can fit into his palm, and names it Disfrozen.

It's not hard after that to lose himself into work after that. His years of training from his father come into play - selling the Disfrozen as the CEO of the newly created Seiker Industries is plenty enough to keep him occupied. Chung fades away as he wears the mask of Prince once more, because no one in the professional world would take a nickname like Chung seriously.

It's not so bad. He has hope for the future sometimes as he lies unsleeping in his apartment. Sometimes he spends the nights with his hands and thoughts wrapped around the memories of Eve, of her soft hair and even softer touch, of her cold, cold eyes. Of how they were warm, just for him. Usually he passes out before he can even think of anything else.

He's twenty-two when Seiker Industries launches the Disfrozen mark one, and he has the whole world ahead of him.

* * *

 **A/N: this... was a fever dream**

 **this is definitely a study in characterization and in storytelling. usually if i write something with this storyline, i'd tell it from Eve's perspective. however, i really wanted to play with perspectives and tell someone else's story, and also Eve got the limelight in _Victoria_ , so this time it's Chung's turn to shine!**

 **this is also a bit of a vent fic in which i attempt to yeet my inner demons out**

 **also the titles for the individual sections are lyrics from songs that i drew inspiration from! hmu if you know where some of those lyrics are from and we can geek out together**

 **on an unrelated note school starts in two days and i'm still not done my essay**

 **~Marg**


	2. no catharsis for any of you

NOTHING PERSONAL

By MargaritaDaemonelix

Part 2

 **TW: sexual content. proceed with caution.**

I. _Exactly like our mother's words_

Chung is twenty-seven when his dream stops being a dream and starts really being a reality.

He puts on the suave, confident image that the media has come to associate with the man named Prince Seiker in the morning like an article of clothing, and sheds it like rags when he returns home in the evening. Sometimes he wonders if Mother would be proud of him, wearing the name she picked for him like a mask.

But he is twenty-seven, and he is an adult, and he really needs to stop playing a child's games.

Oil and coal companies, not surprisingly, hate him. Thanks to Father and his law firm, however, they are able to push them down and keep the Disfrozen not only legal but widely accepted in Elrios. Business is booming, the public love him and his products, and he's almost done developing the much-anticipated Disfrozen household model with his team.

Things would be so much different if he'd stuck to the path set for him throughout his childhood. The idea of Chung as a lawyer is almost comical to think of, but he appreciates the roots that the training had given him. He gives heartfelt thanks to Father on just about every TV show he appears on, and calls and visits whenever he can.

For the first time since graduation, five years ago, Chung feels like his life kind of has a purpose again.

* * *

II. _I'm not your princess, this ain't a fairy tale_

Board meetings will be the death of Chung, regardless of how many times he attends them.

Half of the room is filled with stuffy old men, and the newer half is a slew of younger entrepreneurs like himself, of every race and gender identity. He recognizes a few faces - Ariel Arkwright of COBO, one of the leading manufacturers of transport systems; Luciela Sourcream of Abaddon International. At least the younger generation is easier to converse with.

"Hey," he says, dropping into the seat next to Luciela, "what's happening? Sorry, I didn't get to read the memo."

"You heard how Adrian Nasod stepped down as CEO of Nasod Motors?" She whispers, prim and proper as always. "Today the board is meeting his successor."

 _Oh no. no, no, no, no,_

Chung inhales, exhales, inhales again. Exhales loudly. Inhales loudly. Luciela probably thinks he's just emotional because really, Adrian Nasod has been his hero since he was a child, but it's not the impending retirement he's afraid of.

Realistically, he thinks it's possible that Adrian Nasod could have chosen another successor. It's still highly likely that Adam Nasod could have come back to take over the company. Adrian Nasod could entirely have passed it onto someone from his board of directors.

And yet the doors opens, and Chung finds himself looking at the woman he's loved for the past eight years walking through.

"Good morning." Eve gives the room no smile, no coy glance, no shred of emotion to be exploited. "My name is Evangeline Nasod. I am the new CEO of Nasod Motors. I hope our future endeavors together will be worthwhile."

She has piercing golden eyes and cold silver hair and a gaze that can shatter glass. She wears a black blazer over a creamy white pantsuit and diamond earrings that glint like ice. Her hair is pinned back, out of her face, but reaches much further down her back and is neatly trimmed around her waist. She wields her tablet computer and her icy gaze like weapons.

She takes her seat in the throne that once belonged to her father, and pulls up a document on her tablet. "Now, as my father has formally retired, there will be a few changes in protocol in terms of how Nasod Motors will handle its affairs in the near and upcoming future," she says. "However, these will only last until the immediate media attention recedes. Furthermore, none of the existing projects that Nasod Motors is pursuing with other companies are to be cancelled or postponed."

There's a collective sense of relaxation across the room, but Chung stays wide awake and alert. He knew from the day Eve walked out on him that the smiling, delightful Eve of their youthful years was gone.

It only takes one second of eye contact and a shiver down his spine to really hammer it in.

He didn't think, back then, that her eyes could become colder.

He was wrong.

* * *

III. _You should kick him to the gutter, that's what all your friends' sayin' but I know we can recover_

The board meeting trickles to an end, and finally, _finally_ , Chung is liberated from his seat, stretching out his limbs discreetly as the other company owners flee the room.

Eve is still lingering behind, strangely. She's amassed quite a number of papers since the meeting began, despite only showing up with her tablet. The older members of the board, he knows, are more prone to handing out hard copies.

Chung catches the door just before Eve gets there. "Sorry," he says, flashing her the million-dollar grin with a two-week cooldown time, "I know these meetings tend to drag out for a long time."

Eve blinks twice before stepping through the doorway, dipping her head in thanks. "It would not be the first one I have had to attend," she says. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but you are Prince Seiker of Seiker Industries, no?"

"Got it in one," he chuckles, reaching his hand out to her. "But my friends all call me Chung."

Eve shakes his hand. Hers seems so much smaller than he'd remembered.

* * *

IV. _It is a secret, aaaah, it's not time for me to reveal my feelings yet_

One thing that Chung learns all too late about Eve is that she's an insanely good actress.

Which is great, he's been a pretty great actor himself too. Anyone who works in this field or has to represent a company in general is probably is a fantastic actor, or is just genuinely a bad person. The problem in this lies in the fact that Eve, when acting, puts up an iron wall around her, closing herself in. She becomes an emotionless robot, and she's all too good at pretending to not know him.

"I think we went to the same university, didn't we?" Chung asks, trying to keep his tone nonchalant. "University of Upper Elrios?"

"Quite the contrary," Eve replies, sipping her coffee, or at least whatever's in her mug. Chung wouldn't be surprised if it was a very strong _yuanyang_ blend. "I received my alma mater at the University of Altera."

 _So that's where you ran off to_ , Chung thinks. He doesn't have affogato these days - the gelato dilutes the espresso, and he _really_ needs the caffeine. _So that's how you ran from me and Aisha and Elsword and all our time together._

On the other hand, it does solidify his theory that Eve didn't actually finish her mechanical engineering programme at Upper Elrios. She would have left at the end of third year, and headed straight to business or commerce or whatever at the beginning of what would have been fourth.

"I've heard that their physics labs and facilities are state-of-the-art and really high quality," Chung offers. "I remember applying to one of their engineering programs in high school, but I didn't make it."

"Ah." Eve gives him a smile, the first in five years, but it's not an Eve smile. It's a business smile, almost pitying. "Me neither, actually. I was a commerce student there."

It's like she's only giving away bits and pieces that seem insignificant. Maybe she hopes he's forgotten her. Maybe she's trying to _convince him_ she's a whole other person.

But Chung never backs down from a challenge, and so when it's time for their paths to diverge once more, he claps her on the shoulder lightly, brushing the hair out of her face in the same fluid motion.

She either doesn't feel it or doesn't care, just walks away again.

* * *

V. _I want a peek of the adult world, but only only a bite will intoxicate me_

Which is the forced persona, Eve Silvia or Evangeline Nasod?

Chung conducts his science over the next few board meetings, watching this new Eve, or Evangeline as she calls herself. She seems more like Luciela than what Chung knows (knew?) of her, completely prim and proper and properly cruel.

Then again, Chung knows that Luciela hides her real self under a mask, too. He's seen Lu pig out on pastries and laugh over tea and playfully flop across her assistant's shoulders. Chung has looked into the poor guy's eyes and seen some odd combination of fond exasperation, frustration, and nothing short of a need for instant death.

So nothing really proves that Eve _isn't_ hiding herself under an iron shell. In fact, everything Chung has seen so far only leads him to think that Eve is forcing herself into this new persona.

And yet, underneath the confidence he paints, part of him fears the idea that the Eve he knew was the true impostor. Chung's mind works against him in strange ways, asking the most dangerous questions that he doesn't want the answers to.

Eve catches him in the conference hall after one board meeting using the coffee machine conveniently situated in the corner. "It did not strike me that you would be the type to drink a straight espresso," she comments, watching him fill the bottom of his paper cup with dark roast.

"Your instincts are right," he tells her, raising the cup to his lips. "I used to hate espresso because of how bitter it was. I always needed to pair it with something else to even drink half of it. But recently, I've really needed the caffeine, and adding anything will probably dilute it."

She nods in understanding. "Have you heard of _yuanyang_?" She asks, gesturing with her own travel mug. "It is a Hong Kong-style coffee drink with about thirty percent coffee to seventy percent tea. In my younger years, I took it the traditional way, but recently, I have had to change the percentages to about fifty percent coffee and fifty percent tea."

The edges of her lips twitch upwards, like she's suppressing the mere thought of smiling. "Although it is good to enjoy a normal blend when the stress isn't overbearing," she admits. "It is not healthy to rely constantly on the relief of caffeine. Do treat yourself to an affogato again from time to time."

Her face tints pink slightly, and she immediately dips her head and steps forwards to use the machine herself as Chung backs out of the room.

It takes him a while to figure out why she'd gotten so flustered, but once he does, it's enough proof to convince him that the Eve he knows isn't a fake.

* * *

VI. _Bravely, let's shoot for tomorrow_

"The household model production is on schedule, Mr. Seiker," Echo reports, lollipop in hand and lab coat draped over her arm. "There was a small jam in the assembly line this afternoon, but we were able to diagnose it before it happened and the overall lag time only ended up being less than three seconds."

"That's great," Chung says, and he means it. "Thanks, Echo, I think I'd be dead in the gutter if it weren't for you and Lucy."

"I _know_ you'd be dead in the gutter if it weren't Lucy and I," Echo mutters, shoving her lollipop back in her mouth, "and I get the feeling that I'd be dead if it weren't for Lucy."

Chung cracks a grin. "So basically if Lucy is gone, this entire company dies within twenty-four hours and we all die in a fiery blaze."

"Now, now, Mr. Seiker, I wouldn't say that," Lucy chitters, appearing from a different corridor and handing Chung a sheet of paper. "I'm only in charge of sorting things out. The rest of this operation, from Echo's scientists to the assembly team to your very own ideas, on the other hand, are the real engines that run this company."

Chung scans over the paper quickly. "Good to see that production costs have been lowered again," he says. "At this rate, we'll be able to lower the market price to make the household model more accessible to more homes."

"You really want the oil companies screaming at our doorstep again, don't you," Echo comments dryly.

"Nah, but at least I have the support of the best lawyers in Elrios," Chung replies with a smirk. "What's a coal company? I only know of sustainable practices."

"Speaking of other companies," Lucy suddenly gasps, grasping for the tablet in the pocket of her blazer, "we've had a message from Nasod Motors. The new CEO would like to talk to you in regards to…" She looks down at the screen. "A theoretical collaborative project?"

Chung gapes. Echo hoots like a mad scientist. " _Dude_ , that's sick!" She chortles. "That would be just what we'd need to blast this company into the spotlights instantly. Imagine the revenue. Imagine the project." She suddenly stops walking and drops to her knees. "Oh my god, I'm gonna meet Herbaon Nasod. I need another lollipop."

"That's your third one today, no more for you," Lucy chides, but she watches over Chung worriedly. She'd been a secretary at his father's law firm before becoming his secretary, so naturally she knows his real concern. "The new CEO is the one you have history with, yes?"

"Well, when you put it like that, you make it sound like Eve and I are out to kill each other or something," he manages. "But yeah, we've known each other for… A while."

Lucy smiles softly. She probably knows Chung better than he knows himself at this point. "Shall I send a reply with an available appointment time?"

"Yeah," Chung says, as happily as he isn't, "that sounds great."

* * *

VII. _Because I don't think I'm a genius_

"Delivery for one Evangeline Nasod?"

Eve frowns. "I do not recall having ordered any-"

Chung stands in the doorway, not daring to cower under her intense gaze. "Please sign here," he quips, offering the basket of various teas and gourmet coffee blends he'd prepared. A peace offering, perhaps.

From her desk, Eve squints at him suspiciously. "Why are you here?" She demands, and Chung's heart sinks.

"You sent my management team a message requesting that I come," he says slowly. "In regards to a possible collaboration between our companies? I'm certain Lucy said it was Nasod Motors…"

Eve does not break eye contact for even a second as she gets up, waving a hand sharply at the window. Immediately, blinds begin to lower from the ceiling to cover it up, as the lights gradually illuminate the room to compensate for the darkness. "I don't recall sending such a message," she says quietly, "nor having asked my team to send one."

 _Then why am I here?_ Chung wants to scream. Eve's eye contact is starting to hurt his eyes, his chest. "Alright, he actually says, pressing forwards to place the basket on her desk. "I guess I'll go then."

He turns around, but the door is closed. The lock rattles when he reaches out to turn the knob. "Checkmate," Eve says, and Chung swears he can hear the amusement in her voice as she drops her phone on the desk. "Perhaps you should consider investing in smart technology, since your company seems to be all about it."

"Are you locking me in?" Chung fights down the urge to cross his arms - it's not professional, after all. "Have I done something wrong?"

"Yes." Eve strides up to look him in the eye, three-inch heels and all. "The real reason I summoned you here is because of your behaviour."

Her fingertips come to rest on his chin. She pushes his face up just a bit, enough to see proud and strong like the front he constantly puts on. "Chung," she says quietly, and it sends a shiver down his spine, "you can't pretend to know me anymore."

"What do you mean, pretend?" he protests. "I know you, Eve, I _know_ you. Better than anyone."

"You haven't known me in five years," she counters. "Chung, please don't make this difficult for the both of us. You know as well as I do that our past cannot stand in the way of our businesses."

It takes all of Chung's self control to not turn to jelly right then and there. It's not fair, not when Eve's here in front of him, living proof that she's not gone, that maybe she never left. Not when waves of fire wash over him every time her fingers brush past his face. Not when the only memories he has left of her are the ones where all she's saying is his name.

"That's not right," he says. Is that pain in Eve's eyes? Five years later and he's forgotten the fine art of reading her. "They can coexist, Eve, it's not impossible-"

She cuts him off with a kiss. Chung barely has time to register the thought of _oh_ , and then she's tugging on his hair and it's not like the Eve from five years ago to be this rough but somehow that just adds fuel to the flames already burning in his core. For an electrifying heartbeat, nothing else exists, just Chung and Eve and five years of suppressed feelings and guilt.

"Eve," he murmurs. She still wears that green tea perfume that he picked out for her when they went downtown. "Why are you pretending to be someone else?"

She shakes her head and pushes away from him, eyes still half-closed from their all-too-short kiss. "I am not pretending to be someone else," she says calmly. Her gaze slowly freezes him. Briefly Chung wonders if she practices it. "Chung, you must understand that I cannot be the same woman you knew five years ago anymore. That is why I have been ignoring you at board meetings. Why the other board members cannot know of our history."

Is that shame in her expression? "The elevator down to the lobby is just a right turn from my office," she says quietly, turning her face away.

Chung inhales deeply. If you insist, milady, he almost says out loud, instead muffling his chuckle as a cough. Eve doesn't meet his gaze. Her entire face seems sullen. Five years seem to have taken their toll on her, sharpening her already icy features.

As he begins to drag his feet out of the office, Eve's words start to ring in his head. He rests one hand on the doorknob. The elevator shudders as it ascends to the right floor. His fingers curl around it, and the elevator door opens, beckoning him.

It's Eve. She would never make it as easy as this.

Chung lets go of the doorknob and turns around.

* * *

VIII. _Touch me, touch me, kiss me to sleep_

"I can't."

He sees Eve make the words of "can't what?" out, but then he crashes into her, heart racing and lips instinctively seeking out hers.

Every moment burns away too quickly, just like five years ago but not entirely. Is it because Eve is wearing heels, or because her lip balm tastes like lavender, or Chung has been touched-starved for so long that even the slightest contact with her wrenches his stomach in three directions?

"Chung," Eve gasps, fingers already entangling into his, pinned on either side of her face. What is it in her eyes? Desperation? Yearning? Lust? "Chung, I-"

There's no time for words. Even though they already fit together, Chung leans forwards to close that final gap between them. A fleeting moan escapes Eve's lips, but he's there to capture the sweet sound in his own. There is delicious friction between them that smoulders and burns brighter with every growing second, as Eve cants her hips up towards his.

She pulls away from the wall as Chung spends the moments between heartbeats drowning in ecstasy. The world tilts over, and he finds himself gasping for breath over her as she lies sprawled out on her desk. Her legs snake around his waist, pulling him closer enticingly; her voice drips honey like a siren.

"Chung." It comes out as barely a whisper, but it's enough to make Chung's knees buckle instantly. Nothing about that has changed over the years, not when the sound has haunted his sleepless nights for so long. "Please don't hold back."

He knows he really shouldn't, _they_ shouldn't, not when their careers have painted this image of them being archnemeses, not when there's nothing else guarding them from the consequences, but then she says his name like that, practically _begs him_ , and then all his inhibitions are thrown out the window as their passions blossom.

They ride on a crescendo of euphoria that threatens to crest at any moment. Self control has never been Chung's forte, after all. She hooks one knee over his shoulder as he holds onto her hips, and _oh_ , it just makes it _that_ much better. "Eve," Chung says, voice fading quickly, "are you-"

Her scream is raw, guttural, and in the end that's what drives him over the edge, as their forms melt together and become one, just like five years ago.

"... Eve."

She coughs lightly, giving him a beatific smile. "Chung."

Ignoring the burning in his muscles, Chung reaches forwards and helps her sit up. Something slips out of her pocket and clatters off the desk, onto the floor. He reaches down to pick it up.

His eyes go wide.

* * *

XI. _You're so egoistic, and I know you know it_

"I'm sorry."

"It doesn't matter." A new kind of fire burns in him, not one that he'd like to admit. It's anger; he's livid. "That was fucked up. You could have told me. You _should_ have told me."

Her stare is empty. "Would you have done it if I had told you?"

"Of course not!" Chung huffs out a breath, trying to still his erratic movement and forcing his anger down so he can make proper conversation again. "I actually do keep a moral code."

(The _unlike you_ goes unspoken.)

"Chung, I needed this as much as you did," Eve says quietly. "Do you know how much I've missed you? How much I still love you?"

"Then why did you marry someone else?" Chung all but yells.

"I NEVER WANTED TO!"

They both go silent. The offending golden band, studded with tiny white diamonds, lies on the edge of Eve's desk. "My father arranged the marriage," she says, voice choked like there's something in her chest. "I made the mistake of not waiting for our future once. I never wanted to make that mistake a second time."

"Then you don't love him."

She fixates him with a look. "Chung, I have been married for nearly a year now. He still calls me Evangeline and makes me coffee with no tea. I swear to you, I have had no intention of loving him in any capacity." Her firm glare is only slightly ruined when the corners of her mouth twitch upwards. "I have to admit that I was pleasantly surprised that you brought the _yuanyang_ gift basket. Anyone else would have forgotten it."

"And I was surprised when you mentioned affogato," he croaks. "Bottom line is, Eve, why did you call me here? Just so we could relive our past?"

Eve presses her lips together into a thin line. "Chung," she says quietly, "I know… I have made mistakes before. I left you out of my own cowardice, and now I have no open way out. Next week I will be flying to Empyrean for a conference, and by the looks of it I will not be returning for some time. I will be gone for a long time, Chung." She inhales deeply. "Are you willing to wait for me?"

Chung thinks about it for a while. Eve gets out of her chair, moves around the room to clean up the desk. Hopefully no trace of their love will remain in this professional environment.

The implications of her statement are colourful. Chung thinks of a future with her, of the media, of keynote speakers and TED Talks and presentations, of the wrath of billions of people, of legal proceedings and papers. "I think… Eve, I can't forgive you just yet," he admits. "But I can wait for you. I can learn to forgive you in that time."

There is something like relief on her face. "Thank you," she says, stopping to fold down his collar and kiss his cheek. Her touch lingers like a haze on his collarbone. "I swear I will not break your trust again."

"Then I'll be waiting for you to return to me," he says. "So until then… Business rivals?"

"Business rivals," she echoes, shaking his hand firmly. Her hands are so warm in his. "Goodbye, Chung Seiker."

* * *

X. _Even if we don't cling to the thing called love, even if we're happy, would it be better?_

Chung is a patient man.

The Disfrozen household model sells out within three hours of its release, and for the first month afterwards, he's too caught up helping with troubleshooting individual units to watch Eve's big conference in Empyrean. Echo and Lucy, if they notice anything strange about him, don't mention it. They deliver the numbers and the ideas and the complaints, and he goes through them as he finds little ways to forgive Eve.

By the time Eve reappears in the public eye, nearly a year and a half later, Chung's technological empire stands equal to hers.

The baby boy she brings with her onto her first solo TED Talk looks like a mix of her and her blue-eyed, black-haired husband, but as the boy grows up, Chung sees himself echoed in his features. The dark tips in his hair. The reflective spots of his eyes. Little Nexus is softspoken and, irony of ironies, wants to be a lawyer when he grows up.

Every year on Nexus's birthday, a mystery package shows up at the Nasod household, containing handmade toys with only the initials _C.S._ on them to explain their origin. Every year, Eve watches her son play with the new toys and smiles sadly as she remembers the promise she's made, and the person who's been waiting for her to make good on said promise.

Chung spends the years developing new ideas, tapping into new markets - electric cars, planes, innovative computers, whatever Nexus seems to like that particular year. Behind the curtains, he makes precious treasures, to let someone precious to him know that he's forgiven her, that he's waiting, and that he'll wait for eternity if he needs to.

They're still young, and they have the whole world ahead of them.

* * *

 **A/N:** **yes, Nexus is Eve and Chung's son born from their affair. yes, the one sending the gifts to him is Chung.**

 **in other news, i'd like to announce a contest! there are two challenges hidden in this fic. the first is the lyrics in the subtitles - each comes from a different song. the other is a hidden puzzle - the answer is a secret message! that's right, i used my awful puzzle-making skills to embed a secret message in the fic. the first person to send me a PM with the secret message and all 20 songs gets to a) give me a prompt to write or b) decide what happens next (after the Altera arc) in WtWE. if no one gets it right then i guess i'll just do whatever.**

 **your one hint for both challenges is that i searched a bunch of reol songs for the lyrics, but only three reol originals made the cut. happy puzzle solving!**

 **~Marg**


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